Internet Passwords

SplashData has released its annual list of the most common passwords found on the Internet. The worrying fact here is that the same weak, easily guessable passwords are still the most commonly used out there. With cybercrime rising on a daily basis, it is still amazing that people aren't taking the simplest steps to protect their online identity, despite warnings of what could happen if someone compromises their password.
"Passwords based on simple patterns on your keyboard remain popular despite how weak they are," said Morgan Slain, CEO of SplashData, "Any password using numbers alone should be avoided, especially sequences."
The good news is more and more organisations are forcing customers to use complex, less guessable passwords. However, there are a few simple steps that everyone should take to ensure they stay safe online.
The first position is unbelievably still 123456 for the umpteenth year in a row and nine of the top 25 worst passwords are strictly numerical in different variations.
Here's the complete list:
1 - 123456
2 - password
3 - 12345
4 - 12345678
5 - qwerty
6 - 123456789
7 - 1234
8 - baseball
9 - dragon
10 - football
11 - 1234567
12 - monkey
13 - letmein
14 - abc123
15 - 111111
16 - mustang
17 - access
18 - shadow
19 - master
20 - michael
21 - superman
22 - 696969
23 - 123123
24 - batman
25 - trustno1
Based on the analysis from SplashData and simple basic security prevention, NetNames recommends that when crafting your passwords:
• Don't use simple or repetitive keyboard patterns such as "qwerty" or "123123".
• Don't use a favourite past time that others could find out from your social media footprint - baseball and football were both in the Top 10.
• Don't use your birthday or birth year. People in their early 20s seemed to be especially guilty of this, with the years 1989 to 1992 all in the top 100.
• Don't use common names – michael, jennifer, thomas, jordan, michelle, charlie, andrew and daniel were all in the Top 50.
• If you think your password has been compromised, tell the provider immediately and change it to something completely different - do not just add a different number or letter to the old password.
• Finally, if you receive a request to log into one of your online accounts, never click on the link. Navigate to the page yourself.